


phases of a theory

by Val Mora (valmora)



Category: Me and AU (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Gen, any insufficiently understood science, canon-typical "does she like me does she not", daoist philosophy as magical framework, fanfic about media set in fandom about fandom (fanception)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28163673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valmora/pseuds/Val%20Mora
Summary: hella-enchantedThere's nothing that says the faeries are Irish-style sidhe, so the air/fire/water/earth understandings of magical ability don't necessarily apply. I think they might be doing something East Asian?? Anyone getting a kind of cyberpunky feel even though it's definitely a Western monster-of-the-week show?
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	phases of a theory

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theleakypen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theleakypen/gifts).



> Laurence Yep is a real YA author; the series attributed to him also exists in our world, although presumably differently than in the one depicted here.

hella-enchanted:

I'm not sure we're interpreting that scene with Grace growing that flower correctly. There's nothing that says the faeries are Irish-style sidhe, so the air/fire/water/earth understandings of magical ability don't necessarily apply. I think they might be doing something East Asian?? Anyone getting a kind of cyberpunky feel even though it's definitely a Western monster-of-the-week show? 

acunningplan

am not up to date on my cyberpunk literature! Can you elaborate? 

hozierthecar

There's this thing in cyberpunk where they took older East Asian models (primarily originating in China but used elsewhere) of understanding magic and grafted it onto technology for their worldbuilding. You see it a lot in Gibson's early work like Neuromancer, and Professional Alan Turing Fetishist Neal Stephenson does it a lot. 

The general gist of it is that there aren't four elements but rather five, and that they have an underlying dualistic aspect of yin/yang (dark/light, female/male, nurturing/generative, broadly speaking) which is itself underlied by something nondualistic (this is one of the reasons why Unifying Thaumatic Theories are so fraught in China, by the way, if you follow any Chinese media fandoms). 

I want to add on to @hella-enchanted's commentary in this vein by pointing out that I'm pretty sure we saw Grace's companion in the background of Episode 12's coffee meditation scene reading a book in Korean. 

hella-enchanted

I definitely had not noticed the book! Good catch! 

* * *

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

I know it's YA literature but if you don't know about the magical thing you should read Laurence Yep's _Golden Mountain Chronicles_ which shows that worldview really well. Also I just like Laurence Yep.

From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

Ok! I will try it!

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

I promised myself I would only recommend you one book in this vein, but it turns out I lied. I kind of made a Goodreads list about it. 

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/55555-Asian-American-Kid-Books

From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

...the one with the Buddhist nun who solves mysteries sounds _amazing_.

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

THEY ARE. In like book 3 she teams up with a Daoist priestess and they solve the mystery _together_. I asked for a fic about them for Yuletide two years ago but no takers.

* * *

hella-enchanted

I'm really loving whatever they're doing with Tony's shirts this week. Serious old-school Kirk clothing damage vibes.

urmomfriend

ikr? Beefcake for Garrett.

acunningplan

(A gif screencap of Garrett and Tony making eye contact despite Tony's shirts being so torn they reveal most of Tony's chest.)

Garrett's a total gentleman. It's respectful!

urmomfriend

"Respectful thirsty" sounds like something from an alignment chart.

pppyourboat

It's a good thing that Tony's canonically got water-related magic then! 

hella-enchanted

He's the _quenchiest _.__

____

* * *

__From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS_ _

Ok ok ok but didn't Tony say that both his dad and grandfather had water magic? 

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

Yes, why?

From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

Because remember his dad didn't die by fire in the flashback, the way you'd normally expect for someone with water magic under a curse

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

Right, yes, he was ---------oh wow yes, you're totally right.

More evidence for my five phases theory!

From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

You are so far 1/1 on secret werewolf theory, so I'm willing to run with this!

* * *

The Phases of the Town

ohsopretty

Summary:

All things change. The moon, the population of the town, which shape Garrett is in. Tony wishes he could, too.

Notes:

@hella-enchanted came up with an interesting interpretation of the magical worldbuilding in the series, that instead of using the standard Western approaches to magic, they're using something Chinese. I ran with it, with permission. 

* * *

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS 

Did you see the fic!! 

From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

I saw the fic! I read the fic! It was good. The part where they have to huddle for warmth for _proper magical reasons_ is so good. I mean, I have my reservations about the whole "Canadian shack" thing - shacks? in Canada? - but I love a good huddle for warmth, as we all know.

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

I think my favorite part was the whole part talking about how werewolves don't act within one phase because they're already _embodiments_ of phases.

From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

I kind of didn't really follow that part but it sounded good!

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

That's fair! Basically the magical phases are predicated on something less like an innate nature and more like the interactions between things? So werewolves changing from humans to wolves and being simultaneously both things is like...really magical. In that framework. I think bippity explained it in more detail in their author's notes on their blog, though, if that doesn't work for you.

From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

I will check that out! So uh….what kind of magic do you do? I don't think you ever said…

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

Oh! I don't think I did. Formally the registration is Earth, but I identify more strongly with the Metal tradition. Mostly what I use magic for is, like, sensing change in the couch cushions and getting rid of weeds in gardens. I don't have a green thumb at all.

You?

From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

Oh um, I mean, we never really figured it out really? It's sort of intermittent. Some days I can heat up the coffee without a heater. Some days I can keep the coffee from spilling. Stuff like that? 

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

Mysterious. 😀

* * *

So nobody's ever just...accepted that I can't reliably do magic before. It was a whole thing in school, I had a remedial magic program and everything. In the end they put me in the "nonmagical" magic class. That was okay, I guess? Nobody was asking me to do anything that I couldn't do, or which I could do some days but not others. I liked that. It was simple.

* * *

acunningplan

oh wow did they just do what I thought they did?

hella-enchanted

THEY DID

birdnetwork

2/2 FOR @HELLA-ENCHANTED BOOYAH *DOES A LITTLE VICTORY DANCE*

acunningplan

Ella, are you secretly working on the writing team???

hella-enchanted

I solemnly swear I am uninvolved in the making of Selkirk!

pppyourboat

Any chance I could get you to pick my next lottery ticket?

* * *

urmomfriend

**The Five Phases in Selkirk: An Analysis in Retrospect**

So since @hella-enchanted called the use of the Five Phases instead of Aristotelian approaches to magic, here's some meta about that thing now that we have canon confirmation, and why it matters!

Read more

birdnetwork

HEY A READING LIST ON THE FIVE PHASES THEORIES OF MAGIC FOR SELKIRK FANS

Read more

* * *

From: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
To: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

Congrats on figuring it out!

From: Ella <everandbeyond93@gmail.com>  
To: ACunningPlan <cannotfail@gmail.com>  
Subject: Re: WRWULF PUPYS

Aww, thanks. ♥


End file.
